1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to apparatus for motivating animals to move and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to apparatus for making poultry, hogs and the like move so that they feed more often and thereby put on more weight.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the animal raising industry it is desirable to raise each animal so that it gives a high yield of meat because this increases the efficiency of the animal raiser's operation and increases the amount to be marketed for a given number of animals. To achieve this desirable result, there is the need for an apparatus which can assist each animal to grow larger (specifically, to put on more marketable meat) and/or to reach the desired size in a relatively shorter period of time by periodically motivating the animal to move around in its containment area and consequently eat more often than if the animal were allowed to merely follow its own biological clock.
It is also desirable in the animal raising industry to reduce the mortality rate which often results when a number of animals is confined within an enclosed area in which the animals are raised. For example, poultry, which are raised in an enclosed structure, tend to bunch together in cold weather. This bunching often results in various ones of the poultry dying because they are crushed under the weight of the more outwardly bunched animals or are suffocated by the same bunching. Mortality rates are also known to increase in hot weather when the animals tend to lie down and succumb to the heat. Therefore, there is the need for an apparatus which causes the animals to move around during such periods of relatively cold or hot temperatures.
Because these desirable functions need to be performed periodically throughout each day, it is further desirable to provide means which can automatically perform them to save human time and energy. When the automatic means operates electrically off a power source which degrades with time and use, it is also necessary to provide the desired apparatus with means by which the power source can be recharged.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,167,153 in the name of Markum supports the proposition that there is the need for an apparatus which periodically causes poultry to be moved. The Markum patent discloses a guide rail having a movable carriage attached thereto, a baffle attached to the carriage and positioned adjacent the floor of the house within which the guide rail is disposed, and means for periodically moving the carriage and baffle along the guide rail. The Markum patent discloses that the period between each cycle of carriage movement is generally to be between thirty and ninety minutes and that the movement is to be effected by means of a timer-controlled electric motor and drive wheel means.
However, the Markum patent fails to disclose that the moving means described therein is applicable to animals other than poultry, and it fails to disclose means other than a baffle positioned adjacent the floor for moving poultry. This failure to teach a plurality of different motivating means is a shortcoming because animals become accustomed to a single stimulus after a period of time and thus fail to be urged to movement after they become so accustomed.
The Markum patent also does not disclose means for actuating the carriage drive means wherein the actuating means includes a docking and switch system whereby the power source for energizing the drive means can be recharged. This failure is an important shortcoming because there are various regulations regarding the nature of power sources which can be used within areas in which animals are raised. As a result of these regulations, it is desirable to use a direct current power supply, such as one or more batteries, as an energization means within the animal confinement area. If the motivating apparatus does not provide means for recharging the batteries when such a source is used, time-consuming battery changes result.
Furthermore, the Markum patent fails to disclose means for actuating the motivating apparatus when the temperature gets too cold or too hot. This failure is a critical shortcoming because during such cold or hot temperature periods, the animals may crowd together or become inactive and thereafter die from being crushed, suffocated or overexposed to heat.